Music-sheet-guiding device.



T. P. BROWN. IvIUsIc SHEET GUIDING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, i9 H- Patented Nov. 20,1917.

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' 'rrr'nononn tr. *EBBOWN, or wonons'rn'n, MASSACHUSETTS, iASSIGNOR mosmrnnx .rLmtnn acmroiv com an orwwoacnsrnn, :MASSACHUSETTS, acomaon'arron .or zM-ASSAOHUSET'I'S.

MUsrc-snEn'r-GUInmG innvicn.

Speoificat ion oflletters: Patent. LP-atghted, 191-7.

- flb all whom-jarring/concern:

' lommonwealth of Massachu'setts, have inwented a new and 11sef1'1l i provement "in Music Sheet Guiding Devices, of whichthe following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

The present invention relates 'to music sheet guidmg devices such as are used in automatic music-a1 t ins'truments to maintain the correct registration of the perforations of the music -or note sheet'with the-corresponding apertures in the trackerebar' 1 of-= the instrument.

application "to the mechanism-=of any of the existing types of automatic musical instruments or piano players,- WlfillOUt the necessity for a reorganization of the 'parts'of the latter. I

More specifically,astill further -Objec't is to utilize I instrumentalities already present in the player to whichthedevice is applied, in order to provide in part for the actuation of the device, thereby greatly reducingthe number of parts required. Y

Other and furth'erohjects'will be apparent from the following description and the claim annexed thereto, reference bein'g had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of improved guiding device which embodies my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in both figures.

The reference numerals 1 and 2 designate the frame members usually provided in automatic musical instruments for the support of the music spools 3 and 4 and the intermediate perforated tracker-bar 5. The spool 3, upon which the note sheet is drawn in the operation of the instrument, is permanently journaled in the said frames, being provided with the usual means, not shown, for insuring its rotative movement. The

note sheets are supplied permanently attached to sp-ools 4, forfinsertiondn the instrument when desired, and tolthis end the ing said shaft, and disposed between "the bracket "7 aiiJd=a-shoi1lder-9 on said shaft, operates to yieldin gl y maintain the unnerend :of said shafttoward therighti in Fig. 1.

The heads of eachspo'ol d-arerecessed to receive the inner endof;shared-and the inner end'of an axially alined shaft 10, cai'ried by the other frame rnember 2, whereby to provide for the imitative mounting of said spool. The insertion of each spool & is ef- "fec'ted by the depression of the shaft 6 against the resistance of spring '8, in the usual manner, in order to permit the :re'gis- 'tration of theirecess in the oth'er end of said 'sp'ool with the inner end ofshaft 10. -When the' spcol sis in position, the force of spring "8 y'ieldin'gly maintains the spool in centered position with respect to the shafts 6 and 10.

The shaft 10 has a reduced portion which passes through a 's'uitable bearii' g 11 carried by frame member and is capable of Elongitudinal movemei'it therein for a pu'ii'p'ose hereinafter set "forth. The tracker bar 5,

"in addition "to the not-e apertures 1..., over which the registering apertures o'f thcnote sheet are drawn as the latter 1S1Gletb0flt0 the :Ispool 3 from' the spool l in the usual manner, has near one end an apeiiiture '18, which communicates, by means of a tube 1 1,

avithftPie interior of art-actuating pneumatic 'The latter may conveniently be secured to or supported by a portion of the stationary framework which embodies the members 1 and 2, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The interior of said pneumatic has formed therein a recess 16 from which a restricted aperture or bleed port 17 leads to a passage 18 which communicates with an exhausting device, not shown. The recess 16 is covered by a screen 19, of felt or other porous materal, so as to permit the passage of'air therethrough, but to provide an extended straining surface for said air to prevent the stoppage of the bleed port by fragments of paper, lint, or the like. The movable wall 20 of said pneumatic 15 has secured thereto a member 21 having a curved arm 22 against which the outer end of shaft 10 is constantly pressed by the expansive force or spring 8. The face of said arm against which the shaft 10'bears is inclined from the vertical in the direction of its length, as shown at 23. Consequently, the downward movement of said arm, by the collapsing of wall 20, etl'ects movement of shaft 10 and spool 1 to the left,

-in-Fig. 2, against the yielding resistance of spring 8; while the expansive force ofsaid spring operates to maintain the spool 4 and shaft 10 to the right, in Fig. 1, when the conditions tending to collapse said wall 20 do not exist.

The operation of my improved device is as follows :-\Vhen the automatic musical instrument is in operation, air is drawn through the interior of the penumatic 15 by means of its connection through the bleed port 17 with the before mentioned exhausting device. The aperture 13 is so disposed that in the normal position. of the note sheet, e., in the position where the perforations therein register accurately with the corresponding note apertures 12, only a portion of the area of said aperture is left exposed beyond the edge of said sheet, as indicated by broken line 24:, Fig. 1, said area being substantially equal to the area of bleed port 17, so that the air exhausted through said bleed port is replenished by the air supplied to the pneumatic through aperture 1.3. A deflection of the note sheet to the right, from any cause whatsoever, restricts the effective area of aperture 13, and reduces the volume of air passing into the interior of pneumatic 15. The resulting collapse of the wall 20, due to the partial vacuum thus created in the pneumatic, effects, through the down ward movement of depending arm 22, the movement of spool 4 to the left, against. the resistance of spring 8, carrying the note sheet with it, so as to uncover more of aperture 13. On the other hand, should the note sheet move too far to the left, uncovering more than the proper area of aperture 13,

sive actions above set forth is to cause the spool 4 to be balanced in its longitudinal position between the actions of thepneumatic 15 and spring 8, thereby securing a sensitive and quickly responsive automatic adjustment of said spool audits note sheet with respect to the apertures 12 and 13 of the tracker-bar 5.

The above described device, it will be.

seen, secures at all times the correct and accurate positioning of the note sheet, with the provision of a minimum number of parts over and above the parts already present in the existing types of automatic musical instruments. The spring 8, ordinarily employed for the centering and holding of the removable music spool, is rendered capable of a new and independent function, namely, the cooperationwith the pneumatic 15 in maintaining the note sheet in its proper registering position.

I claim,

In an automatic musical instrument, a pneumatic bellows mechanism, comprising a stationary wall and a movable wall, inclosing a chamber, an exhausting device for maintaining a tension in said chamber, whereby to actuate said movable wall, one of said walls providing a restricted opening which connects said chamber with said exhausting device, said opening being surrounded by a recess of extended area, and a. sheet of foraminous material covering said recess and spaced from said opening.

Dated this fourth day of August, 1914.

THEODORE P. nuowu. Witness:

PENELOPE COMBERBACH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the fcommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

